Espanol Al Vuelo - An Elementary Spanish Reader An Elementary Spanish Reader

espanol al vuelo AN ELEMENTARY SPANISH READER by Jose Sanchez NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY THE MACMZLLAJNT COMPANY lVH NEW YORK HQQI. EY-BUNDSCHU LIBRARY 9 AVILA COLLEGE To My Wife FOREWORD . HE PAST WAK OPENED A NEW world to most of the American people, both culturally and commercially. Little was known of the South Pacific, of North Africa and of other distant lands. Many parts of the Pacific were discovered and colon ized by Spain during her period of great explorations Spain left her culture and language in the Philippine Islands Spanish is spoken in Guam, in Hawaii, in Palau Guadalcanal was discovered by a Spanish navigator. In Egypt, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Greece and in other sections of the Eastern Mediterranean over 150,000 Spanish Jews still speak the Spanish of their ancestors who migrated from Spain in 1492. Even today they still preserve many cultural attributes of the Spanish people. A visit to these distant places and a glimpse of the almost forgotten Hispanic elements of these regions constitute the frame-work around which this book is built. Espanol al Vuelo is an elementary reader which presupposes a working knowledge of the early rudiments of grammar. It may be started after covering eight or ten lessons in the grammar. The material has been prepared with the primary purpose of offering to the beginning student a lively story told in every-day Spanish. The simple and idiomatic Spanish, the constant repetition of words and phrases, and the con vii FOREWORD versational style used throughout the text should insure ease in reading, in understanding and in class-discussion. The vocabulary used is based for the most part on the several standard frequency lists, and the constructionsare simple, especially in the early lessons. The frequent use of cognates, and words of identical or nearly identical meaning in both Spanish and English will facilitate the reading and comprehension. As the story progresses new tenses are added, and for the sake of completeness a few examples of the sub junctive are used in the last lessons. The vocabulary at the foot of the page records only the first appearance of a word. It is hoped that this method will aid the student in fixing the meaning of the words better. The general vocabulary at the end of the book repeats the sight vocabulary and is intended to be complete. A number of radical-changing forms of verbs are entered as separate words in the general vocabulary. As further aid to classroom instruction a Cuestionario accompanies each lesson. This will afford abundant oral practice and aid in vocabulary-building. The nature of the material in the text also offers many opportunities for dis cussion, which the teacher can use to advantage. The ques tions call for the use of the most useful, practical, and the most constantly-recurring words and idioms. The author wishes to thank the many students who read the story in manuscript form and suggested many changes in the plot. He also desires to express his appreciation and thanks to SeSora Maria Powell Maria Vanegas Guarin, of Bogota, Colombia to Senora Mercedes Ramos, of Cara cas, Venezuela and to Senor Vicente Lema, of La Paz, Bolivia, for their valuable criticism in the preparation of this book. Special acknowledgment should be accorded to Prof. William E. Bull, of Washington University, St. Louis, and to his colleague Prof. J. Kenneth Leslie, for their pains taking care in readingthe manuscript and suggesting im FOREWORD ix provements in the presentation of the subject matter. Obviously, none of these friends is responsible for the short comings and imperfections which the book may have. EVANSTON, ILLINOIS J. S. TABLE OF CONTENTS espanol al vuelo